So you want to be a successful blogger, eh?
Well, at least a blogger that can make money blogging easily, right?
When I started Twins Mommy in 2016 I had no idea that in less than a year my blog was making money!
And now, this blog makes consistent income month after month! So if you want blog content that can convert your readers into buyers, the number one blog plan tactic is your blog format.
So, when creating a blog, having a strong blog plan is what will create a foundation and help you monetize your blog.
In this post you will learn my blog content plan that I use for all my blogs that make money. It’s part of my overall blog traffic recipe.
Content Strategy Template
Now, to make this all simple as a new blogger, what you need first and foremost are people coming to your blog.
Yes, it’s that simple, but really, it is a challenge for the majority of bloggers. Up to 80% of blogs that will start this year will end up failing.
It’s a sad statistic and that is why I want to HELP you become a successful blogger.
So, how do you start getting people to your blog?
Before I get into the nitty-gritty of this blog post, make sure to check out my Youtube video on how to start a money-making blog.
1. A Traffic Plan
In the beginning, you will have to think of what type of blog content you will promote to get the right people reading your blog post ideas.
And your blog content ties into your blog niche. For example, if you want to have a breastfeeding blog because you are a breastfeeding consultant or you are a mom with several kids that exclusively breastfed, you will have to come up with blog post ideas for your audience.
Who will be reading your blog? Why will they be reading your blog?
Is it because:
- They are worried about breastfeeding hurting?
- They believe breast is best
- They feel breastfeeding builds a stronger connection
- They are not sure if breast is best
- They don’t know how to handle complications or challenges
Now that you have a list of problems from your soon-to-be audience, you can now craft content just for them.
Now that you have blog content you need that traffic plan and that starts with using social media – specifically Pinterest – to promote your blog content.
Pinterest is the best social platform for new bloggers but you will have to work at it. It will take a minimum of 30 days to get Pinterest to understand your Pinterest profile.
You can do this easily by keywording your Pinterest boards and your pins.
For example, I have a Parenting board on my Twins Mommy Pinterest profile and in that board, I have third- party pins and my pins are related to parenting.
Another great way to promote your blog on social media is to leverage Facebook.
Early on, I started a Twins Mommy Facebook page as a way to promote my blog content.
When you set up your Facebook page for your blog, it’s OKAY to only post your content.
It’s YOUR page and you want to share it with your audience.
Of course, as a beginner, you may not have a lot of content to share but you can do Facebook lives, ask questions or share your social profiles as ways to grow your brand.
As well, you can join Facebook groups that allow promotions. My group, Mom to Mompreneur does NOT allow promotions but if you have a blog post, you can share it as an answer to a question thread.
The last way you can promote your blog content for free is via guest blogging.
Guest blogging means having your blog content on someone else’s blog. You guest post and get an author bio to share your blog or freebies.
Sometimes the blog owner will allow you to link to your blog content in the guest post.
I own Imperfectly Perfect Mama, a guest contributor blog and I allow mom bloggers to link to their blog content as long as it’s relatable and isn’t too much (i.e. every link is directed to their blog).
This is a great way to get in front of a new audience because most guest blogs will have more traffic than your brand new blog!
2. A Content Plan
Now that you have a traffic plan in place, it’s time to develop a strong and foundational content plan.
Your content is what will keep a reader hooked to your blog, sign up to your list and tell others about your blog.
And the first step is finding that all-encompassing blog niche that serves your audience.
But, what about a lifestyle blog?
Can you be a successful blogger with a multi-topic blog? Yes, you can but it will be harder. You’ll have a quicker and easier time if you choose one blog niche.
Twins Mommy isn’t a one-niche blog. I blog about blogging, email, productivity and work at home mom content.
It’s harder for me to rank in Google because of this. Google is deciding what I’m known for and right now it’s leaning towards making money at home or at-home businesses.
But, I really enjoy blogging about blog tips! So, developing my blog content plan is a challenge for me and it might be for you too.
Know that it will take time to find what your audience seeks and that means pivoting and changing.
After you find that niche and those content ideas I mentioned in the traffic plan part of this post, you have to start thinking about how often you should blog.
Should you blog:
- Twice a week?
- Once a week?
- Every other week?
- Once a month?
- Every day?
Many successful Youtubers post daily videos or at least 3 times a week and when they decide to start a blog, they just follow that same schedule, thinking it would work.
But, you know what? It doesn’t and many of them give up blogging because they get burnt out.
So, what do you do?
My suggestion is to first try once a week. This blog schedule is the easiest to do even if you are a working mom or stay at home mom.
You can take most of the week researching and outlining your blog content and then take the evening to draft up the introduction, meat of the post, and conclusion.
Then you can publish your content the following Monday and start over again!
The thing to remember is to remain consistent. Blogs that publish consistent content, get more readers, more traffic, and more income.
It’s just a fact. Google likes consistency just as Pinterest enjoys fresh content on a consistent basis.
Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s okay if you don’t publish consistently after a few months.
With Twins Mommy, my content plan changed from bi-weekly to weekly, to twice a month to now, whenever I can!
But, because I was consistent in the beginning, I grew my blog and have a built-in audience that I can take my time publishing content.
But, if Twins Mommy was a brand new site, I would definitely be creating more content.
Finally, you need to pay attention to your blog format.
Remember in the beginning I mentioned that the #1 thing to focus on is your blog format?
That’s because it relates to accessibility and usefulness.
What I mean is, if you have two blog posts about critical survival techniques in the wilderness and one article is a huge block of text with no subheadings, no links, no images, or no bullet lists.
And the other?
Has a clear blog outline with subheadings, simple paragraphs to make it easy to read, links that stand out, embed videos and images to break up the content, and bullet lists to condense important information.
Your blog format will dictate how long a reader will sit and read your post. Of course, the actual writing and how what you blog about also plays an important role, but format always wins I think.
3. A Monetization Plan
After you figure out your traffic plan and content plan, you can now focus on monetizing your blog.
Personally, the two ways you can make money easily are with affiliate marketing and offering a service.
With affiliate marketing you can promote:
- Books
- Online courses
- Planers
- Webinars
- Printable packs
- Calendars
- eBooks
- Hosting plans
- Automation tools like Tailwind
- Email service providers
- Landing page tools
- Amazon
There are thousands of affiliates you can promote and there are many affiliate programs you can sign up to.
As well, you can even offer a service to gain quick income. And yes, even if you started a blog three months ago, why not offer blog writing as a service?
Or, general VA services?
Maybe you excel with creating Pin graphics. Why not offer that as a service? There are many services you can offer as a beginner so explore what you’re good at and ask others in Facebook groups if they need help.
What’s great about offering services is the ability to grow and try new things because you are making money blogging.
With me, after I landed a few freelance blogging clients, I started coaching and then creating courses, then starting new sites, and now making printables. It was a natural progression.
4. Build an Audience (That Raves About You)
The last part to your blog content plan is a raving tribe.
I can’t tell you enough that it’s the PEOPLE that counts. They are the traffic, they are the ones clicking on your affiliate links and they are the ones sharing your blog.
You want people like that as your audience.
And you get this from your niche and addressing your audience’s problems.
That’s why having a lifestyle niche may not help you with building a raving audience – unless you have a unique selling point.
For me, I believe my unique selling point is that I’m a mom to twins that has multiple sites.
This inherently tells other mom bloggers that I must be making some income, I must be good at managing multiple sites and I must be good at promoting sites.
And that ties into my brand on Twins Mommy (remember how I mentioned that I like blogging about blogging even though Google is seeing Twins Mommy more as a work at home site? It’s because of my brand that I continue to blog about blogging).
One thing to realize is that this is a process. It can take up to a year to really solidify your brand and what you’re known for.
That’s why I tell brand new bloggers to take that first year to figure all of this out! It’s a lot for sure!
Your Blog Content Plan for Success
There ya go!
That is my blog content plan, step-by-step. For more help, download my free Blog Traffic Plan to get you started!
If you liked this post, check out these other guides:
- 54 Simples Ways to Increase Website Traffic
- How to Get Started With Sponsored Blog Posts
- How to Be an Expert in Your Blog Niche (When You Know Nothing About It)
Over to you – have you recently started blogging? Share your blog in the comments! I love visiting new sites!
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